A Thousand Blows: State Budget Slashes Funding for a Wide Swath of Local Government Services

September 02, 2011

A Thousand Blows: State Budget Slashes Funding for a Wide Swath of Local Government Services

September 02, 2011

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The state budget deepens fiscal problems for local governments. The billion dollars taken from revenue sharing programs that historically supported counties, communities and local services translates into thousands of cuts to services ranging from street lighting, sewer districts, port authorities and parks to children’s services, senior services, health and mental health services. This August 2011 report details the reductions.

Ohio's local governments have similar ratios of payroll to population and employment to population as the rest of the country. If anything, our averages are a bit lower than the rest of the nation. Cutting local government will send us further below the national average and harm our ability to provide essentials and amenities in our communities.

The interactive map provides lists of cuts affecting each county in Ohio. Click on your county and see what’s impacted at home through loss of Local Government Funds and tax reimbursements as a result of House Bill 153, the new state budget bill.

Note on the map: Among the largest loss in flexible funding to many cities, villages and townships are the cuts to the County Undivided Fund, which is provided to each county from the Local Government Fund and then allocated to municipalities, townships, some parks and some public assistance services at the sub-county level. These distributions have not been published by the state. In the interactive map, the total for the County Undivided Fund is presented, but sub-county distributions are not included. Call your county fiscal office for these estimates.

Map Data Notes and Sources Note: Among the largest loss in flexible funding to many cities, villages and townships are the cuts to the County Undivided Fund, which is provided to each county from the Local Government Fund and then allocated to municipalities, townships, some parks and some public assistance services at the sub-county level. These distributions have not been published by the state. In the interactive map, the total for the County Undivided Fund is presented, but sub-county distributions are not included. Call your county fiscal office for these estimates. Examples of sub-county allocations for Franklin and Erie counties are included in the appendix of the brief.

Local Government Fund (LGF) Table: The table on the Local Government Fund illustrates loss of funding in calendar year 2012 compared to 2010. Dollars lost in 2013 are not presented because the formula will change midyear with the next budget bill. However, percentage change in funding stream in the first six months of 2013 is given. Loss in two different distributions of the Local Government Fund are given: the County Undivided Fund, which counties share with municipalities, townships and occasionally other uses within the county, and the Municipal Fund, which is provided directly to municipalities with a municipal income tax. County fiscal offices can provide information on how individual counties sub-allocate funds from their County Undivided Fund. Source: Policy Matters Ohio based on Ohio Department of Taxation, Distributions to each county undivided local government fund, reflecting changes made by FY 12-13 state operating budget (Am.Sub. House Bill 153), 7/15/2011 and Distributions made directly from the Local Government Fund to qualifying municipalities, reflecting changes enacted by FY12-13 state operating budget (Am. Sub. House Bill 153), 7/15/2011.

Tax Reimbursements Table: The table on tax reimbursement illustrates loss of funding in calendar year 2013 compared to 2010 (the last whole calendar year before the new state budget). Red ink indicates a loss in annual funding. Loss in two types of tax reimbursement are given in the table: Tangible Personal Property Tax Reimbursements ("TPP") and Public Utility Tangible Property Tax Reimbursements ("PUTP"). Source: Policy Matters Ohio, Based on Ohio Department of Taxation, “CY 2011 & thereafter Services TPP or SB3 reimbursements as enacted in HB 153,” 8/9/2011 at Ohio Department of Taxation website, Phase-out of the Tangible Personal Property Tax and Public Utility Deregulation Replacement (SB3) Payments as Enacted in HB 153.